The present invention relates to a laser line beam emitting apparatus, which is utilized for production of a vertical reference line drawn on a floor, a ceiling, and wall(s), and/or a horizontal reference line drawn on wall(s), for, e.g., provision of a partition to divide a room, in employment of the construction industry. Particularly, the present invention relates to a laser line beam emitting apparatus which allows for production of a laser line beam drawn in the range of wider angle.
Nowadays, the construction industry uses the laser line beam emitting apparatus in place of the marking (or ink pad) technique, which carpenters or construction workers measure the objectives by drawing a vertical or horizontal line on respective surfaces with a Chinese ink or a chalk.
The laser line beam emitting apparatus is provided with a laser beam source unit for production of the drawn vertical or horizontal line. It is also provided with a gimbals mechanism having a pendulum hang threrefrom with maintenance in the location at the right angle with respect to the earth. The light source unit is mounted to the pendulum so that it is allowed to produce a vertical, or horizontal reference line passing walls, a ceiling and a floor, or front, back, right and left walls in a room. It is desired that the drawn, emitted vertical or horizontal reference line would be in the range of wider angle in the room, as shown in FIGS. 3, 2.
FIG. 3 shows that the emitted laser beam flux from a laser line beam emitting apparatus 1 positioned on a floor 2 forms a vertical reference line drawn on a ceiling 5, walls 3 and 4 on the right and left sides as well as the floor 2 without the discontinuity. Such the emission of the vertical reference line beam is desired to cover the area which is at wider angle xcex8 with respect to the apparatus. It is also desired that the emission of the horizontal reference line beam drawn on walls 3 around the laser line beam emitting apparatus 1 allows for covering the area in the range of wider angle xcex8 as shown in FIG. 2.
FIG. 4 is, as an example, a schematic view of a conventional laser line beam emitting apparatus having two laser beam source units which respectively comprise laser beam sources; collimator lenses through which the laser beams from respective laser beam sources are collimated; and cylindrical lenses through which respective collimated laser beams are diffused or widened, wherein the diffused or widened laser beams go rightward and leftward or in the opposite directions from each other as shown in the figure, respectively, and thus the foregoing laser line beam emitted therefrom and drawn on the objects without the discontinuity appears.
In FIG. 4, a laser line beam emitting apparatus on a floor has a base board 11 having three legs 12 mounted on and extending from the underside surface thereof to the floor. The base board 11 also has some columns or bars 13 mounted on and extending from the topside surface thereof. The upper columns or bars 13 are provided with respective gimbals mechanisms 14 from which a pendulum 15 is hung. The gimbals mechanisms 14 are, according to the figure, briefly shown. In detail, it has horizontal shafts orthogonal to each other, and is hanging the pendulum 15 from some swinging elements which are swingy held through the horizontal shafts combined such that the pendulum can move to all directions and can be, irrespective of the base board 11 being tilted, always at the position where it is plumb with respect to the horizontal.
The pendulum 15 has a pair of laser beam source units 21, 22 mounted at the top end thereof on respective left and right sides. The pair of laser beam source units 21 and 22, which are mounted on the pendulum 15, are arranged such that the left unit 21 faces to the left outward and tilts the head up, while the right unit 22 faces to the right outward and tilts the head up, with respect to the earth. The left and right units 21, 22 comprise elements such as laser diodes 23, 26, collimator lenses 24 and 27 through which the emitted laser beams from the laser diodes 23, 26 are collimated, and cylindrical lenses 25 and 28 through which the collimated, emitted laser beams are widened in only the vertical direction with respect to the horizontal, respectively. The laser beams from the laser beam source units 21 and 22 widen to the areas in the range of angles xcex81 and xcex82 with respect to the centers of the cylindrical lenses 25 and 28, respectively.
The widened laser beams from respective laser beam source units 21 and 22 overlap in part with formation of a laser line beam on the objective surfaces, wherein the laser line beam widens to the area in the range of the angle xcex8 as shown in FIG. 3, that is at the angle wider than the forgoing angles xcex81 and xcex82.
For performance of the production of widened laser line beam(s) that form the reference line drawn on the objects at the wide area in the range of the angle xcex8 as shown in FIG. 3, the foregoing conventional laser line beam emitting apparatus requires two or a pair of laser beam source units each having a laser beam source, and collimator and cylindrical lenses. This raises cost of the sales. Such the emitting apparatus also requires that the pair of laser beam source units are angularly adjusted into a position such that emission of laser line beams therefrom can produce a straight line drawn on the objects without the discontinuity. This is very hard works.
In view of the subject matters as stated above, it is the first object of the present invention to provide a laser line beam emitting apparatus having functions of emission of at least one laser line beam into the area at the wide-angle as well as reduction in cost of the sales. In addition, it is the second object of the present invention to provide a laser line beam emitting apparatus, which allows for facilitation of the angular adjustment of laser beams going toward the objects.
The laser line beam emitting apparatus according to the present invention performs production of a vertical or horizontal straight laser line beam by use of only a single cylindrical lens. The cylindrical lens is positioned ahead of at least two pointer units, in place of the foregoing laser beam source units. Each of the pointer units points their own outlet at the cylindrical lens.
The pointer units are arranged such that the emitted laser beams from respective outlets cross each other. The single cylindrical lens is positioned at the intersection point of the laser beams, wherein the central axis of the cylindrical lens lies at right angles to the vertical or is parallel to the vertical. The laser beams go toward the cylindrical lens after being collimated through respective collimator lenses provided in respective pointer units. Passing through the cylindrical lens, the collimated laser beams are vertically or horizontally diffused in the opposite directions from each other so that a straight laser line beam without the discontinuity appears.
The intersection point of the laser beams is at the center axis of the cylindrical lens, and both the optical axes of the laser beams from respective pointer units are at right angles to the central axis of the cylindrical lens. Such the crossing laser beams provides a precise straight line plumb or parallel to the horizontal.
The cylindrical lens and pointer units are mounted to a pendulum which is pendant through gimbals mechanism(s). The combination of the pendulum and gimbals mechanism(s) prevents the tilted laser line beam emitting apparatus affecting production of precisely drawn reference vertical or horizontal line beam from the combination of the pointer units and cylindrical lens. This can accommodate the cylindrical lenses and pointer units to the marking technique in the construction industry.
The foregoing construction of the laser line beam emitting apparatus enables precise drawing of a vertical or horizontal straight laser line beam formed in the area at the wide-angle, in following fashions.
In the laser line beam emitting apparatus according to the present invention, at least two pointer units each having a laser beam source and a collimator lens are provided. Each of the laser beam sources emits a laser beam toward the collimator lens. The collimator lenses collimate the emitted laser beams, respectively. The pointer units are arranged to cross the collimated, emitted laser beams at a position. At the intersection point of the collimated laser beams, a cylindrical lens is disposed. From the intersection point, the crossed laser beams each are vertically or horizontally diffused from the cylindrical lens for formation of a straight laser line beam at the wide-angle area around the cylindrical lens.
Mounting of the cylindrical lens and pointer units to a pendulum which is pendant through gimbals mechanisms provides a marking technique in the construction industry.